No. 10 Florida State seeks to learn from ‘sickening’ loss, faces Boston College in home opener

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State coach Mike Norvell was sickened by his team’s season-opening 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland.

He made sure to thank fans who journeyed across the Atlantic to support the team, but made clear it’s time to get back to “work” — his mantra throughout his four years at Florida State — and that starts with the 10th-ranked Seminoles’ home opener against Boston College on Monday night.

“It’s sickening that we came up short in that game,” Norvell said. “Obviously, I take total responsibility and ownership for that. It’s my job to have the team prepared to go and play to the best of our ability. I don’t believe that was our best.”

Florida State (0-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) will get a chance against another conference foe to show it can slow down dual threat quarterbacks after Georgia Tech’s Haynes King found plenty of running lanes in Ireland.

The Eagles’ Thomas Castellanos had one of the more impressive seasons by a dual threat quarterback in 2023, throwing for 2,248 yards and running for 1,113 yards — becoming just the fifth ACC player to surpass 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a single season. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson accomplished the feat twice (2016 and ’17), and Castellanos could be primed to build on his totals under the guidance of new coach Bill O’Brien.

“Tommy has had a really good training camp,” O’Brien said. “He’s put a lot of work into this. We’re definitely going to let Tommy be Tommy. That’s what he does best. He’s a very instinctive player. He’s gotten better in the passing game.”

Florida State is preparing for a new offensive scheme from O’Brien, who was twice an assistant coach with the New England Patriots and spent the 2023 season on Bill Belichick’s staff.

Regardless of what changes O’Brien makes, the Seminoles know Castellanos very well. A year ago, Castellanos threw for 305 yards, a touchdown and an interception and ran for 95 yards and a TD in a 31-29 loss to Florida State.

Norvell and defensive coaches emphasized the high number of missed tackles against Georgia Tech, knowing well the challenge that they would also be facing on Labor Day.

“We continue to push and challenge that unit, whether it’s D-line, linebackers, safeties, corners,” Norvell said. “We got to make sure our fits are tight, that we do a better job of tackling in space. … This week we’re going to play another running back quarterback. It’s going to take all hats.”

Here are a few storylines to watch in Boston College-Florida State:

O’Brien’s return

The Eagles open their first season under O’Brien, the former Penn State and Houston Texans head coach who returned to his hometown to take over when Jeff Hafley left to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.

O’Brien has a 15-9 record in college and a 52-48 record in the NFL.

Recruiting suspension

Florida State will be without offensive coordinator Alex Atkins as he serves the second game of a three-game, NCAA-mandated suspension. Atkins, Florida State administrators and the NCAA agreed to the penalty, which stems from the recruitment of a transfer portal prospect in spring 2022.

Returning starters

BC returns eight starters on defense and seven on offense, including running back Kye Robichaux, who ran for eight touchdowns last season and caught eight more out of the backfield. He is joined by Treshaun Ward, who has 1,884 career rushing yards and 17 touchdowns — including 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns at Florida State (2019-22).

Righting the ship

Florida State has won nine straight home games, a run that dates to a loss against Clemson in October 2022. That was the Seminoles’ last regular-season loss until Georgia Tech.

The Seminoles are 23-5 since the start of the 2022 season, an 82.1 winning percentage that leads the ACC.

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AP Sports writer Jimmy Golen contributed to this report.

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